Most tissue treatment and/or removal procedures require a high degree of precision so as to ensure the procedure is successful. For example, cancer-related tissue removal procedures generally require a particularly high-degree of accuracy. Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Cancer generally manifests into abnormal growths of tissue in the form of a tumor that may be localized to a particular area of a patient's body (e.g., associated with a specific body part or organ) or may be spread throughout. Tumors, both benign and malignant, are commonly treated and removed via surgical intervention, as surgery often offers the greatest chance for complete removal and cure, especially if the cancer has not spread to other parts of the body.
Tissue treatment and/or removal procedures are frequently assisted by navigation technology to guide the procedure in real time, wherein such navigation technology typically includes diagnostic imaging systems such as an ultrasound, x-ray, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), computed tomography (CT), thermal, and the like. For example, in the instance of performing a biopsy of a tissue abnormality suspected of being cancerous, such a biopsy may be guided by ultrasound imaging to ensure that the biopsy is performed at the required location.
When performing a biopsy of tissue suspected to be cancerous, proper diagnosis relies on a sample retrieval from a tissue abnormality suspected of being cancerous, not from nearby normal tissues. Thus, it is imperative that a surgeon have proper guidance when performing the biopsy to thereby ensure that the surgeon engages the target tissue and not surrounding healthy tissue, which may otherwise lead to an incorrect negative test result. Furthermore, when surgically destroying or removing a tissue abnormality suspected of being cancerous (or positively identified as cancerous), any cancerous tissue inadvertently left behind may be detrimental to the patient, as reoccurrence of a tumor may most likely occur as a result of this leftover cancerous tissue.
Treatment of early stage breast cancer, for example, may include electrosurgical methods to destroy abnormal tissue growths, in combination with a diagnostic imaging system. For example, a breast tumor resection procedure may include a wire penetrating the breast to reach the tumor or a radio-opaque clip placed within the tumor. The radio-opaque clip may be placed in the tumor during a biopsy procedure. The wire insertion is guided by imaging, for example ultrasound imaging, MRI, or mammography and an electrosurgical procedure is carried out. With current tissue treatment and/or removal procedures, it can be challenging for the surgeon to locate and destroy all traces of cancerous tissue, including any filaments or fimbriae where a reoccurrence of the tumor may most likely occur.
For example, while a typical skilled practitioner can detect tumors and micro-calcifications by ultrasound, available navigation systems may still rely upon free hand positioning, in which operative components of the biopsy or tissue resection system (i.e. the ultrasound transducer wand and the biopsy or electrosurgical device) are each manipulated freely by hand. In other words, the surgeon must employ both hands continuously, and in concert, throughout the procedure, which can have significant drawbacks. For example, a surgeon must concurrently operate the ultrasound transducer wand and position/operate the biopsy or electrosurgical device while watching an image of the working end of the device in relation to the target tissue, which can lead to frustration and/or fatigue for the operator due to the trial and error process of properly aligning the working end of the device and the target tissue. Furthermore, because breast tissue is relatively pliant, manipulation in the form of contact from the biopsy or electrosurgical apparatus and/or the ultrasound transducer may cause the target lesion to move within the breast, and result in an inaccurate penetration of the target tissue (for biopsy purposes) or incomplete destruction or removal of the target tissue.